User Comments - SaiTe

Posted on: Strong (in the abstract)

1. How would you say "strong morals"?

2. What about a strong sense of moral responsibility? As in "He has a strong sense of moral responsibility.

Posted on: Sleeping in

A useful and creative lesson.  However, there are a few related phrases that I am still curious about how to say.  

How would I say "stay up all night" as in:

Last night I had alot of studying to do so I stayed up all night.

Also, how would you say "up all night doing something", for example:

I'm sorry I'm so tired today, I was up all night studying last night.

I realize that the meaning of the two phrases are somewhat similar, however, I'm interested in being able to express similar ideas in multiple ways so that I don't sound so robotic and restricted when I speak Chinese.  

Any help with the translation would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks!

Posted on: Car Crash

I've actually seen a situation similar to this happen in Xi'an.  A guy in his early thirties driving a new black Audi hit a taxi in the middle of downtown Xi'an.  This happened around 11:00 at night and what makes it even more interesting is that before the accident, I saw the man who was driving the black Audi come out of a bar and get into his car.  I remembered thinking to myself that I should avoid being in his path because he might be dangerous.  Sure enough, as he pulled out of the parking spot/sidewalk (yeah, they drive and park on the sidewalks in Xi'an) onto the street (at way too fast a speed) he proceeded to run right into the side of a taxi.  The man in the Audi got on the phone and within about 10 minutes a man about his same age pulled up in a his brand new black Mercedes.  I assume his friend (or relative) brought money to pay off the taxi driver.  What made this even more absurd though, is that while both of the cars were sitting crashed in the middle of one of the busiest streets in downtown Xi'an, I saw atleast 2 police cars drive past the accident without even slowing down.  

I suppose that things work differently in China, however, I guarantee that if this had been America those police cars (whether they were on duty or not) would have stopped. And I guarantee that no amount of money or influence would have prevented the privileged man in Audi from facing a DUI charge in court (what would happen in court would probably be a different story, but at least he would have to go). 

Posted on: Rice First

Yeah, one of my pet peeves in China as well. Fortunately, between late spring and early fall when the weather is warmer (or in some places not until the heat of the summer) many restaurants and bars decide to serve cold beer (or at least cool beer). However, it's quite rare to find cold/cool beer anywhere during the winter.

Personally, I feel that beer is a drink that is meant to be drunk cold. Just as red wine should be served at room temperature and white wine should be served chilled.

Many Chinese people don't like drinking cold drinks, especially when it's cold outside. Instead of making all of the beer warm a simple solution would be to not drink beer if you don't want to drink a cold drink. But since I'm quite significantly out numbered on this one, and since I'm a "guest" here in China, there's no use in complaining too much.

Posted on: Spring 2011 News

I agree. If the Qing Wen lessons were divided according to their difficulty levels then it would be really helpful. There are quite a few Qing Wen lessons now and sorting through all of them, especially back to the very first ones, can be rather tedious. Making subgroups of them would really simplify things. (Although people in some of the difficulty levels might begin feeling left out since the lessons probably wouldn't be uniformly spread out among all the difficulty levels.)

Posted on: Spring 2011 News

I would like to request a lesson about “communicating” with Chinese people.  

I was hoping that the lesson’s focus could go beyond “speaking” in Chinese and it could also cover some of the culturally different aspects of communicating in Chinese with Chinese people.  While Americans tend to favor a more direct communication style, I have been told that Chinese people tend to communicate in more of an indirect fashion.  What implications does this have for conversing with a Chinese person?  I’ve had several experiences talking with Chinese people when it seemed as though they didn’t understand what I was communicating... my words were being understood, however, it was as though the meaning was being either misunderstood or ignored.  

For example, I say: 

“When I'm less busy I would love to play basketball with you, I’lll let you know when I’m free.”

My Meaning: 

“When I'm less busy I would love to play basketball with you, I’lll let you know when I’m free.”

Chinese understanding of my meaning:

“I don’t want to play basketball with you.  I may or may not be busy.” 

Also, what unsuspecting topics are taboo to talk about (beyond the obvious ones like sex, politics, etc.)?  Can I ask a Chinese person what their job is without worrying about them losing face if their job happens to be cleaning streets or serving food? Can I ask them about their family?  What about using sarcasm when talking with a Chinese person?  Does it translate?  Is it unwise to be completely honest when talking to a Chinese person or are there some things that I have to lie about in order to “give face”?  Is there a best way to go about asking Chinese people their opinions about things?  Or are those things not frequently talked about (surely they have opinions right?  but they rarely seem to want to truthfully share them)?

I hope that I don't come across as rude or intolerant with these questions.  That is not my intent, I'm just rather lost when it comes to Chinese communicating habits... and at times, that can be frustrating.

Any help with any or all of these questions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.  

Posted on: Making the Most of 最 (zui)

Can this be used when giving directions to a taxi driver?  
For example:

去在左边的倒数第一座大厦。

Go to the last building on the left.  

Is that alright?

What about this:

去在红绿灯前面的左边的倒数第一座大厦。
Go to the last building on the left before the traffic light.  

谢谢你的帮忙！